Introduction to FabCafe Hida

​FabCafe Hida, a new cafe for digital creation in a renovated old Japanese house, will be having its grand opening in the spring of 2016. Located in Hida-Furukawa, the house, which once was a prosperous sake brewery and wordworking studio, enjoys a history of over 100 years.

With a warehouse area that has been in use since the Edo period, a doma area that was rebuilt during the Meiji period, and a kitchen and bathroom that were structurally altered during the Showa period, the old house ties together culture over the course of three historical periods. Take one step inside, and you can feel the continuous historical changes that have taken place there.

Inheriting this venerable DNA for creating things, FabCafe Hida will build a creative platform for the next generation utilizing digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers and laser cutters.

It will multiply technology with the tradition skills and lore that has been handed down to Hida to open the door to the future.

FabCafe Hida intends to be a space with an atmosphere that is always open; a borderless place for a new community of craftsmaship that combines local and global; a place where, passing under the noren curtains, you might encounter an international designer chatting happily with a local craftsman or lumberjack, an old lady or an old gent.

In addition, FabCafe Hida will also offer stays and training camps.

While staying at FabCafe Hida, creators, designers, and architects will also be able to use it as a place for innovative experimentation as they work with the local hardwood or traditional joinery (kumiki in Japanese) techniques. Alternatively, the cafe can be used as a place for companies to cultivate talent and develop business through training camps and workshops while appreciating Hida's nature and food as well as its rich culture. We are also accepting applications for external labs and parent-child camps!